Dizzy, Dizzy...Watch out! There's a cliff!!

Isaiah 40:31New International Version (NIV)

31 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Ever just wanted to think of the "Way" of Faith in Christ as a warm fuzzy and invigorating cup of hot cocoa? Yes, I've found my peace in Christ and now I will sit down in my chair and enjoy a mocha latte with extra whip...

Oh, and easy on the cinnamon, please! Well, whether we would like to admit to it or not, we are all addicted to the concept of comfort and complacency wrapped up in a package of chocolate, coffee or whatever addictive substance that our subconscious can get its hands on, right?  So, maybe that is the reason why the stresses of the season get us a little crazy...maybe we are so crazy for comfort that the first signs of chaos break us like a cheap piece of glass on the Christmas tree..!! KNow what happened to me? I was decorating one of my three Christmas trees last night..yes, I have 3 trees...always 3 to symbolize the trinity of our Lord, Amen.  Well, I began to do well and was about half way finished with my decorating when I started to climb up onto things to reach, shall we say the upper registers of my tree. Suddenly, a dizzy spell attacked my senses and I almost came tumbling down, taking a few ornaments with me as I thank fully stepped down quickly enough to regain balance on the ground. Interestingly enough, I realized that not only is being hydrated during the holidays a good thing, but so is learning to stand on the center of a chair when reaching to regions higher than our heads!!! Had I not taken a mini spill, I would not have learned that valuable lesson, right? 

Principle, If you don't learn how to fall, you'll never fly at all!!

So, those of us addicted to comfort rarely venture out on purpose to fall, right? Afraid of pain and therefore experiencing little gain, we wain in the face of danger, don't we? Yet, where is the gold of our Christian faith, where is the part where we get to fly??  It's not at the base of the Tree, is it? It's not in the recliner with the cocoa, is it? No, Jonah...it's not in Israel at all, is it? Jonah...that gold is in Assyria...right in the heart of Nineveh...and that's where, Oh prophet of God, you will get your wings....

Yes, Clarence, you have to risk it all, if you ever want to fly....

Wow...Consider the Eagle from our passage at the beginning of the blog...Did you know how an Eagle learns to fly? Well, not too surprisingly...it's a real cliffhanger...!!! These little baby birds are not pushed from a tree's twig...but a massive precipice..a cliff of huge magnitude..!! "Incoming!"

These little egrets have to blindly learn to fly off a cliff or die trying...!!! It's no wonder that our awesome God decided to use the Eagle to show us that we can fly, but first we must learn to use the wings He's given us....."Incoming"....!!! dizzy this Christmas...Are stars off that tree falling down a bit? Relying solely on Him, on Christ, take a leap of faith in His strength and jump off a cliff this Christmas, knowing that you will learn to soar like an Eagle straight through to the gold He's promised us!! Remember how little information Mary had before she knelt before an Angel, said, "yes" and then jumped off a cliff that led to some serious Gold...!!!